Harbury 36 - 14 Hereford II

Harbury went into the final game of March Madness on the back of 3 bonus point wins, aiming for the perfect end to a mad month. Hereford had proved a tough opposition in the away game earlier this month, and on the back of last week's nervous finish against Pershore, the squad knew that they would have to perform better to get the coveted 5 point win. There were a few changes from last week, with Kittendorf and Doddsy returning from the latter's stag do, and Steve Alford out with Covid, and Milburn and Whelan unable to make the squad due to injury. Although it didn't stop Full Kit Whelan from stepping into the team photo pre-match... every squad needs a willing and able linesman. The bench was also boosted by Winchester and Hobson returning to the squad ahead of our final home game of the season. There was an expectant crowd for the last double header of the year, and we had some special visitors from league rivals Stoke Old Boys no doubt hoping for a Hereford victory.

The Villagers got off to a perfect start as good field position and strong carries from Jase, Ciarán and Charlie went close, before Gaz Evans picked and went himself from a metre out to open the scoring underneath the uprights. Ricky added the extras for 7-0. Harbury continued to put Hereford under pressure, and an attempted clearance got caught up in the swirling wind flying back towards the Hereford line. Whilst they cleaned up the initial error, they allowed Tom Boag to get his grubby mitts on the ball, and the scrum half wheeled away towards the Hereford line with Kittendorf and Doddsy outside him. Boag threw the miss-pass beyond Kittendorf to deny him his first score of the season, and found Dodds with the simplest of tasks to dot the ball down. Dodds somehow managed to drop the ball over the line, but the referee gave him the benefit of the doubt and awarded the try. Lucky boy. Ricky hit the crossbar with the conversion to leave the score 12-0.

Barely two minutes later, Hereford shot themselves in the foot and overplayed, losing 30m in territory and the ball to a turnover. Quick hands saw Tom Arnold ship a pass on to Will Higgins for the winger to shuffle round the outside and under the sticks. Ricky added the extras for a 19-0 lead early on.

Hereford came back into the game and started to threaten their own score, but despite a number of penalties close to line they failed to capitalise and Harbury were able to clear. Having soaked up some pressure, a chip and chase from Ricky Alford was gathered by Rory Pond, who was hauled down illegally, but still managed to offload back inside to Ricky. Ricky shipped out the back door to Hector Smith, and given Hector had only scored one try to date he finished like a seasoned try scorer, dancing inside the last two defenders. Ricky added the extras for 26-0 and the half time score.

5 points looked then to be sewn up at half time, and our visitors from Stoke had seen enough 5 minutes later, as a driving maul powered over with flanker Harry Holland at the base. Thanks for coming and glad we put on a show for you.

They left too early at 31-0 and missed the highlight of the day... Doddsy wasn't content with his dodgy try, and Harbury's answer to Finn Russell opted for a kick pass to winger Higgins which obviously came off perfectly. Mercurial talent is our Dodds and as Higgins was tackled he flew in and cleared out too to show he's not just brains and skill but brawn too.

The game went a long period without a try at this point, but Hereford struck next to keep themselves in the game. Despite having not overly threatened, good rush D saw the ball come loose from a Harbury set piece and the Hereford 10 hacked through and managed to dot the ball down just before Ricky could slide in and stop him. 31-7.

Harbury kept plugging away, and Ben Knott powered over for his first try of the season with only 5 minutes to go. Good score and it shows what Lurch can do when he gets good go forward. Ricky wasn't able to add the extras to leave the score at 36-7. There was the chance for Harbury to add to the score late on, but an Alford kick to the corner fell short, and a Hereford counter attack picked off a lazy chase from Harbury. A huge forward pass went missed by the ref and Hereford were able to add their second try with the final play to leave the score at 36-14.

A well deserved victory which leaves us top of the table, needing only a win from our final game of the season to secure top spot. There were a number of brilliant performances with Dodds and Gaz Evans excellent in the pack. Kittendorf had 3 opportunities to score a try and actually deserved one given his performance, but hearing that he's away for the final game of the season at Disney Land... I'm glad he didn't manage one. Tom Boag picked up MotM in front of the future family-in-law, whilst Harry Holland picked up DotD for being pictured out at Revolution Bristol early on Saturday morning. This compounded a tough half for Harry, as after he scored he fell victim to a sniper as he galloped through for a likely second score, pulling his hamstring en route. Poor Harry. Was good to have Jacko and Winch back on the pitch too, and both played well in their return.

The last game of the season is set to be the 6th of April away at Worcester, and there's a bus for players and supporters heading over to hopefully secure the league title, but enjoy the promotion party regardless. If you'd like a space on the bus get in touch with someone at the club and we'll see if we can find you a seat. I think Winch jr is organising the bus so hold your breath.

Up the Harbs,
The Linesman